© 2013 Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin celebrated production of 100th F-35 stealth fighter. The 100th aircraft, an F-35A designated AF...
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| © 2013 Lockheed Martin |
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark A. Welsh III called the event “a big deal for the Air Force” during a Pentagon news conference.
Welsh discussed the service’s need for the JSF, a need that became even more acute, he said, after the Defense Department truncated the total buy of F-22 Raptor fighters.
The F-22 was to provide theater wide air superiority, Welsh said. But with too few F-22s to provide this umbrella, F-35s must pick up the slack. “You have to have the F-35 to augment the F-22 to do the air superiority fight at the beginning of a high-end conflict to survive against the fifth-generation threats we believe will be in the world at that point in time.”
Even with upgrades, Welsh said, current air superiority fighters, F-15 Eagles and F-16 Fighting Falcons, cannot survive against a fifth-generation threat.
In June, the Air Force announced its decision to increase the number of squadrons at Luke AFB to six with 144 aircraft assigned. By 2015, Luke AFB will be training pilots, including international pilots, destined for deployment to combat units around the world.
The first 100 F-35s include 44 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) variants, 42 F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) variants, and 14 F-35C carrier (CV) variants. The U.S. Department of Defense will receive 95 of the first 100 jets from the F-35 assembly line here. The remaining five jets were delivered to two of the program’s partner countries.
The United Kingdom received three F-35B aircraft and two F-35As have been delivered to the Netherlands.
“The 100th F-35 symbolizes the maturation of the F-35 program by the collective government and industry partner team as we prepare to ramp up production,” said Lorraine Martin, Lockheed Martin F-35 Program General Manager.
“It took the collaboration of thousands of people – customers, employees and suppliers – from all over the world to make this day possible. Working together with the F-35 Joint Program Office, the team is focused on delivering the F-35’s 5th generation capabilities to the U.S. armed forces and our allies. This is a proud day for the entire F-35 community.”
The joint strike fighter program is the most expensive in American military history. The Air Force will fly the F-35A variant, the Navy will fly the F-35C, and the Marine Corps will fly the F-35B. The initial operating capability for the Air Force is set for December 2016.
The program has had growing pains. Costs have risen, and the flyaway cost for the Air Force version is around $150 million per aircraft.
The F-35 Lightning II is a 5th generation fighter, combining advanced stealth with fighter speed and agility, advanced mission systems, fully fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and cutting-edge sustainment.
Three distinct variants of the F-35 will replace the A-10 and F-16 for the U.S. Air Force, the F/A-18 for the U.S. Navy, the F/A-18 and AV-8B Harrier for the U.S. Marine Corps, and a variety of fighters for at least 10 other countries.
The F-35A is comprised of 280,000 individual parts while the F-35B is made up of 300,000. The F-35C consists of 290,000 individual parts. Despite their differences, the three variants are actually 80 percent common.
